After eight long years of minor refinements, Apple 2018 could finally introduce a brand new, redesigned MacBook Air

Sometime soon – possibly in this or the next quarter – a new MacBook Air will arrive . (Probably, as usual, Apple did not officially announce anything and did not respond to our request for comment.)

While Apple has given the MacBook Air some incremental upgrades over the last eight years, it remains largely unchanged Apple MacBook Air Fall 2010 . Suffice it to say: A new model is overdue. The current 1

3-inch MacBook Air released in August 2017, has seen the most modest makeover of its 2015 predecessor – a microboost in the speed of its outdated Intel CPU and a belated doubling of RAM.

Now: Look at this:

The original MacBook Air, 10 years later

2:08

Instead, Apple has stopped customers from MacBook Air. The 12-inch MacBook and 13-inch MacBook Pro are equipped with higher-quality Retina displays and the latter model offers more computing power than the Air. The MacBook Pro weighs about 0.3 pounds more than the Air, while the 12-inch MacBook is almost a whole pound lighter. (The newer MacBooks were also the subject of several reports of uneven quality including stories about their ultra-flat butterly keyboards rendered inoperative by a literal dust stain.) Both newer systems cost at least US in the USA $ 300 more.

At the same time, Apple's competitors have flooded the market with alternatives that are well-designed, affordable, and much more powerful. Example A: Dell's XPS 13 which offers a super-strong design and state-of-the-art Intel processors for $ 1,000. If you can tolerate Windows, there are many laptops to choose from that will probably deliver more value per dollar than the outdated MacBook Air.

Dells 2018 XPS 13.

Sarah Tew / CNET

Yet, the fact that Apple has left Air in its lineup and has not depreciated – as it did with its AirPort networking products – fans of the air, based on [19459003hoffen] Mac Pro style Stay of execution . After all, the basic design of the MacBook Air remains the platonic ideal of a laptop for many. At least, a MacBook Air reboot – whether Apple's name is sticky or not – is an opportunity for Apple to define what kind of laptop you can get for 2018 in 2018.

To this end, "I've collected all the rumors and published reports on the upcoming price, specifications, features, and design of the next MacBook Air equivalent, and this summary is constantly updated, so check back regularly for news and details about the Learn about the MacBook Air 2018.

Rumor: Apple will introduce its new MacBook Air in 2018

CNET

DigiTimes reported last year that Apple developed a new 13-inch notebook to replace the MacBook Air and suggested that we would see it sometime in the first half of 2018 – maybe Soon June 4, when the company hosts its Worldwide Developers Conference .

This week, however, DigiTimes revised that forecast and reported that Apple postponed the launch of the MacBook Air in the second half of 2018 – "probably in the third quarter," from July 1st through the end of September. This means that a release could coincide with the likely release of the next iPhone . According to the report, Apple has not given the suppliers an explanation for the delay, so some suspect a problem with "key components like processors".

Rumor: A Cheaper MacBook Air

Of course, DigiTimes does not always have the biggest rumors track record. Bloomberg's more reliable Mark Gurman, however, reported in March that a "new, cheaper MacBook laptop is in the works and is likely to replace the MacBook Air for less than $ 1,000." Similarly, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that the 2018 model will be even "more affordable" than the current MacBook Air.

Today's entry-level MacBook Air with 128GB hard drive capacity starts at $ 999 or AU $ 1,499; The 256 GB version costs $ 1,199. Third-party retailers now routinely discount the Air at $ 750 or $ 800, and the low price is the key to its popularity. (Converted, $ 800 is about £ 600 or AU $ 1,060.)

Rumor: A Significant Redesign with State-of-the-Art Components

The DigiTimes report describes a new MacBook Air that has a "sleek design" from Apple's high resolution should Retina Display and a more modern Intel CPU. It's hard to imagine that the company is presenting a truly new model that does not minimize all of these things to a minimum.

The MacBook Pro's high quality Retina Display and Touch Bar.

Sarah Tew / CNET

What about other Mac updates?

Apple has refreshed its entire laptop range at WWDC 2017, and we may see an update of the other MacBooks in Apple's lineup. Whether this would be a "spec bump" – the same design but with newer, faster Intel chips – or a major overhaul remains to be seen. The Mac supporters would certainly love it when Apple rethinks everything from the Pro models Touch Bar to these problematic keyboards.

The fact that we've seen some recent sales of current MacBooks makes one feel that some sort of 2018 upgrade could be on deck for the WWDC.

Will we ever see a touch screen? MacBook?

Last year, Bloomberg reported that Apple was planning to merge support for applications on the two Mac operating systems in 2018 – possibly in time for a debut at WWDC, which is in June this year . The move would unify support for apps and make them compatible with both iOS (for the iPhone and iPad) and MacOS (for laptops and desktops). At the moment, developers need to design separate versions of each application separately. More recently, Apple analyst John Gruber has said that cross-platform app support is a "2019 affair" – likely following the launch of the upcoming MacBook Air.

Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook continues to insist that a merged MacBook and iPad would not be a good thing. Still, that does not mean that there is no chance for a curveball. How about a redesigned 2018 iPad Pro with a new keyboard attachment?